One Last Gift
by Lady Henrietta
Summary: Minerva and Albus finally confess their feelings, but death has other plans. When the love of her life dies, can one last gift and a miracle make things right again?
1. Never have I ever

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, or ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings.

One Last Gift

Chapter 1: Never have I ever.

"Checkmate again!" Minerva McGonagall exclaimed as her white bishop and white knight cornered Albus Dumbledore's king.

Albus sighed in mock regret. "Must you always beat me so royally my dear?"

"Oh come now, it's only the first game of the evening. You can say I have beaten you royally at midnight," she stated. "It's not as if you have _never_ won a game against me," she teased.

He chuckled. "I recall that I have not beaten you at chess since you were a student. I believe tea is in order."

One of the house elves brought them a pot of blackberry tea and two cups along with a few crumpets. Minerva poured them each a cup and noticed a glint of mischief in her old friend's eyes as she handed him his cup. "Albus, you have something on your mind, I can see it. Tell me what scheme has crossed your mind this time before I die of curiosity."

He smiled and looked at his teacup. "Why don't we play 'Never have I ever' with tea?"

She laughed at his suggestion. "You're just trying to distract me in hope of finally winning the game. Since I cannot be distracted so easily, let the games begin."

"Very well, my dear, I shall start, hmm. Never have I ever… painted a famous mural," he began as the game commenced.

Minerva's tea sat untouched. "Never have I ever participated in an opera," she said as she made her next move.

Albus thought for a few moves as his tea also lay untouched. "Never have I ever visited Beijing just to have Peking Duck."

Minerva smirked, still not having a sip of her tea. "Albus, if we keep this up, the tea will be cold. Never have I ever… tasted that fizzy muggle drink that they call Rootbeer."

This time Albus drank a sip of his tea after making his next move. He suddenly frowned at the teacup and placed a warming charm on their cups before turning back to his deputy. "Last week I wanted to try something new and decided to find what muggles call a 'soft drink,' wondering how a drink could be liquid and soft at the same time. I still do not know where the 'soft' comes from, but they do have some delicious fizzy drinks."

Minerva laughed as Albus continued their other game. "Never have I ever gotten into trouble with a fellow staff member."

_Finally I can have some of my tea_, Minerva thought to herself. She spoke after taking a drink. "It was all Xiomara Hooch's fault, as if that is an excuse. I think you were at a meeting at the time, but Mara talked me into turning Severus into a frog for a few minutes. Things did not go according to plan when she switched him with Neville Longbottom's frog. He did not speak to me for several weeks after that and then I learned that he had started an atrocious rumor behind my back about all the female staff members having warts."

Albus was laughing heartily by the time she finished, but then he paused and looked away for a moment in an almost melancholy expression, as if she had accidentally reminded him of something unpleasant. Then he seemed to draw himself out of whatever was bothering him. "Pity that I was not here for all that. And it seems, my fair feline, that I have succeeded in distracting you," he paused as he captured one of her bishops. "Never have I ever had a swim in the Nile."

Minerva smirked and left her tea alone. "Do you really think you will beat me? It will take a great deal more than what has just occurred in order to say you've won. Never have I ever… let me see, what were those Ravenclaws I caught in the hallway discussing today? You wouldn't believe the things I find students saying this late in the year. Ah, yes, never have I ever played strip poker."

The headmaster choked on his crumpet and shook his head. "My dear, _I_ was supposed to be distracting _you_. I see now that I will have to try harder." He paused and she watched as a myriad of emotions played across his face. When he met her eyes again, the mischief had left. "Never have I ever truly admitted my feelings to someone I deeply care about," he said in a voice almost as quiet as a whisper.

She did not touch her teacup, not looking at him, but not paying close attention to the move she had just made on the board. _Of all the things to say, why did he have to bring up that one? I cannot let him know. He was probably speaking about something in his past. I am only his friend and confident_. After a long pause, she remembered that it was her turn, but her mind would not unglue itself from the topic he had thrown in her lap.

"Never have I ever told my best friend how much he means to me," it was quick and quiet, but Albus heard the whole thing.

As he looked at the board, he realized that he had finally distracted her sufficiently enough to affect her game. His knighted captured her queen. "It would seem, my dear, that I can indeed distract you, seeing as I have your queen."

She noticed that he had left his teacup alone also. Slowly looking up at him, she met his bright blue eyes with her emerald-green ones and it felt as if she were peering into a mirror of her own internal conflicts. Standing, she stepped closer to him and then bent down slightly so that though he was sitting and she was standing, they were at the same eye level.

"You have had my queen long before we ever began this game," she whispered.

Realization struck him and he smiled warmly. He reached up to touch her face, caressing her cheek. "Minerva, I have loved you for so long. I never dreamed that you could feel the same way."

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears of joy. "Albus, you old coot. I love you too, so very much," with that she closed the distance between them and kissed him gently.

He stood and they continued the kiss as it began to intensify. They broke apart for air and smiled at each other. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he whispered in her ear.

"Only about as long as I have," she added.

They kissed again, this time more passionately. His arms enveloped her as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss and the two stood in the middle of the room snogging. She could not bring herself to pull away and he had no will to let her go. After so many years of hiding their feelings, a volcano seemed to have erupted, allowing their emotions to flow out freely. He began trailing kisses down her neck and along her collar bone. When their eyes met again, there was clarity in both pairs on how deep their love for each other ran.

He glanced toward his room and then back to her. She gave one nod and he picked her up. "Albus Dumbledore, I haven't been picked up since I was a girl," she said, attempting to reprimand him but then giggling.

They exchanged a searing kiss. "Perhaps it is time we changed a few things," he said with a youthful grin before they entered his bedroom and he shut the door.


	2. Had a love like you

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, or ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings.

Chapter 2: Had a love like you.

Minerva woke the next morning in a bed that was not hers. When she moved to sit up, she noticed a pair of arms wrapped lovingly around her. She turned to find Albus next to her. "Good morning, my love," she whispered as she stroked his cheek with her hand.

He opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I thought it was all a dream."

"Never doubt how much I love you," she told him before she kissed him lightly.

"The same goes for you my dear," he added as they exchanged a tender kiss.

She craned her neck to look at the clock. "I suppose we really ought to go down for breakfast."

"Must we? We could just ask the house elves to bring us something," he attempted to persuade her.

She wormed her way out of his embrace and began collecting her clothing. "Do you realize how many scandalous rumors the staff will spread if at least one of us is not present? Xiomara will see to it that the entire school gets involved in the rumors as well."

He chuckled and also dressed himself. "I suppose you are correct as usual, my dear, I will see you at breakfast then."

They kissed again before Minerva left in her animagus form and each could not get the other out of their heads as they prepared for the day. As they ate they exchanged flirtatious glances. They were the last to leave the Great Hall after the meal and stopped walking in the hallway, noticing that no one else seemed to be around. "I suppose I really should dash off to my class," Minerva mentioned without moving.

Albus stayed in the same spot as well. "I should probably be on my way as well with all the paperwork I have."

"I love you with every fiber of my being," she whispered.

"I love you too, so very much," he conveyed.

They kissed deeply, as if both of them new instinctively that such good things could not last for long. She looked into his eyes, still seeing the melancholy expression of foreboding and attempted to kiss it away before they walked off in their separate directions.

Later that day she had heard noises and found that deatheaters had come to the castle. She had sent Filius Flitwick to alert Snape and was still waiting for a message or a plan. As she stared out of the window at the chaotic battle that had begun, for some reason her eyes drifted off and out, as if she was looking up for something. Then an icy feeling suddenly hit her in the pit of her stomach and knocked the wind out of her.

Before she even knew what she was saying, she whispered "Albus."

Then the realization hit her that something unfathomably terrible had just occurred. It was not until she went to the infirmary to check on Harry Potter that the news came to her: Albus was dead, murdered by Snape. Poppy was asking her something, but she could not understand what it was as her world suddenly began to spin and then went black.

She woke on one of the beds in the infirmary with Poppy and Xiomara watching her. "Poppy, what am I doing here? Where is Albus?" Minerva mumbled groggily.

The two women exchanged concerned looks. "Minerva, you are here because you fainted. Albus… Albus has… left us," Poppy said with as much tact as she could muster.

Minerva slowly sat up. "I was hoping that it was a nightmare and I would wake up in his arms again," she said more to herself than anyone else.

"Perhaps it would be best if we let her get back to her rooms for a while," Xiomara suggested.

Poppy looked from Xiomara to Minerva. "Well, I suppose it would be better than staying here and she might be able to have a better rest."

When they were out in the hall, Minerva faced her friend. "Thank you, Mara, you're a lifesaver. It is nearly impossible to think coherently in that place."

"You're welcome, Min. I must admit though that I did it partly for selfish reasons. Why did you say what you said about waking up with Albus?" the flying instructor questioned.

Minerva began to quicken her pace. "Not here, we'll talk in my rooms," she explained.

Later when they were seated in two chairs, Minerva sighed heavily and prepared to tell Xiomara the truth. "Mara, last night he and I finally confessed our true feelings for each other. One thing led to another and we spent the night together," she admitted.

The other witch's eyes were like saucers. "I never thought it would happen. I owe Sprout ten galleons. She said you two would get on with it this year and I was betting on never."

Tears began to run down Minerva's cheeks and she could not hold them back. Xiomara came over to her and wrapped her arms around her in a sisterly manner. "I'm so sorry. That was so insensitive of me. I was trying to lighten the situation. Min, I'm so sorry."

Minerva nodded and sniffed. "I have not only lost my best friend: I have lost the only man I have ever truly loved. Mara, I cannot run this school without him. What am I going to do?"

Xiomara answered in a matter-o-fact tone. "You are the only one he could trust enough to run the school. He knew you were capable, so he made you his deputy. You are going to run the school and you are going to do it to the best of your abilities."

"Thank you, Mara, I know I need to pull myself together and I should, but-"

The flying instructor attempted to cheer her up. "Minerva, allow yourself time to grieve and then everything else can come once you have a focus again. You'll get back on your feet and put yourself back together like you always have. Then you'll-"

"You don't understand. I could always put myself back together before because I had Albus to help me! I am alone now," she lamented.

The other woman shook her head. "I am right here with you. I will only leave you alone if you ask me to. I have the ability to hang around you so much that you will undoubtedly be sick of me."

Despite her pain, Minerva smiled at her friend. "Thank you again. Will you… will you help me with the funeral preparations? I don't think that I can do it on my own without completely breaking down."

She nodded. "Of course I'll help. I was actually about to offer. What do you intend to do about the school?"

The new Headmistress closed her eyes for a moment to organize her thoughts. Finally she opened them and was ready to speak again. "I need to ask a favor of you: would you gather the remaining heads of the houses and tell them to meet me in my office? I think we should consider closing the school for now."

"Don't you think that might be a bit rash?" her friend asked.

Minerva shook her head. "I think it is the safest course of action at the moment."

It was decided that the school would be closed for the remainder of the year as Minerva prepared for Albus' funeral. It was a touching ceremony and Minerva managed to use every ounce of Gryffindor courage she had as she gave the eulogy. After Albus' body had been laid to rest she went to the headmaster's suit to see if there was anything she could move or organize.

When she reached his study she felt drained and sank down into a chair. "Albus, why did you have to leave me just as we finally understood each other? How am I supposed to do this with out you? Don't you realize that I love you so much that it hurts to breath without you?" she said aloud before allowing herself to succumb to the deep well of grief she had hardened herself against during the ceremony.

Over the next few days, morose would have been an understatement for her quiet depression. She went through the motions and preparations, still unable to transfer most of her things to the other suit. Poppy and Xiomara took note of her behavior and decided to speak with her, having not only noticed her mood, but also her self-inflicted fast.

Minerva had settled down after having rearranged the desk and was seated in one of the chairs in Albus' study when she heard a knock at the door. She had kept the old password in his memory, "Oatmeal Scotchies." She answered the door to find Poppy and Xiomara.

"Is there something either of you-" they did not let her finish.

"Minerva, the whole staff is worried about you. Makeup can only hide so much of a person's emotional state. I also know you have not been eating as you should. I have here a list of foods and meal arrangements that should put some colour back into your cheeks," Poppy explained.

The Headmistress graciously accepted the list and then glanced at Xiomara, as if asking her why she had come. "Min, I just came to ask you if there was anything you'd like me to do, any task you don't feel up to doing."

She smiled wanly. "I appreciate this visit, I really do. Believe me when I tell you that I will be alright. I am just trying to adjust and to collect myself."

A voice belonging to a figure whose painted eyes closed previously, spoke. "Ahem, Minerva let them do a few things for you and have a goodnight's sleep. We have important things to discuss when you feel better, my dear."

Xiomara caught Minerva as she turned white as a sheet and seemed unsteady on her feet for a moment. "Min, it's his painting. Here, sit down."

Minerva took a deep breath to steady her nerves once she was seated on the couch and looked to where the painting now hung. "I had forgotten about that. On second thought, extra sleep seems like the appropriate idea. Mara, would you look through a few of those files on the desk and see if anyone looks like a potential candidate for a new Transfiguration professor?"

The flying instructor nodded. "Of course, now you get some sleep, or I'll have Poppy make sure you get some sleep."

She put her hands up in defense. "Alright, you have convinced me. Goodnight." For the first time since Albus' death, she slept solidly all through the night.

I do apologize for such a painful chapter after a fluffy one, but I had to keep to the summary. My thanks to magic cheese, Quill of Minerva, TartanLioness, skichik, HMS Frivolity and Felines, Isabelle (), TheGryffindorSeeker, SherbetKitty, and excessivelyperky for reviewing :D.


	3. But when you left

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, or ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings

Chapter 3: But when you left.

Before Minerva had time to speak with Albus' portrait two weeks had passed since the battle. "How are you today, my dear?" the portrait asked in that same voice as the one it had been painted for.

She swallowed hard and looked up at it, sighing regretfully. "I am manageable these days, but slowly getting better at it."

"I do hope that what I have to tell you may help you then. If you recall, when a person is painted for a portrait like mine, the person can choose to withhold certain memories. He had a plan, Minerva, for after the battle. However, I know very little about it. There is something he wanted you to see though. Move my painting aside and you'll find a new compartment in the wall," the painting instructed.

She eyed it curiously, then did as it suggested. The compartment was similar to a small square wall safe. "How do I open it?" she inquired.

"It is designed to open only to you and only with a certain phrase. I do not know much about its contents, nor do I know what the phrase is," the painting replied.

_It's just like him to make a riddle out of a painting_, Minerva thought to herself as she wracked her brain for phrases. After trying several, she sighed in disgust. "I've tried everything I can think of. If only you had left some more clues," she paused and looked at the compartment as tears threatened to form again and whispered, "I love you, Albus, I guess you finally have me in checkmate."

She realized that something she had said that last time was the right thing. The compartment door swung open to reveal a long rolled scroll and a yellow-orange glowing liquid in a small vial. "What are these?" she asked the portrait.

"I'm sorry but the only thing I know about them is that he wanted you to have them and that you would eventually figure it out on your own," it responded.

After placing the portrait back on the wall, she wandered over to the desk and began examining the scroll. She looked at it but only became more confused on what it meant. _ Is this even English? Why did he have to leave me something in code? He could have at least left it in a language I could decipher._

She was still no closer to an answer another two weeks later. She had moved more of her things into the headmistress's suit and was arranging her books when she noticed that a few were unaccounted for. She remembered visiting the library and wondered if she had left the books there. When she entered the library, she spotted Flitwick at a table reading a book and using another to translate something.

"Good morning Filius, what are you reading?" she asked as she walked over to him.

He looked up and smiled politely. "Good morning Minerva, you're looking more like yourself. Have a seat," he paused as she sat down. "I'm reading the Canterbury Tales. It's in Old English, so I am using this book to translate as I go. If you don't have something to translate it, the language doesn't even look like English anymore," he related, showing her both books.

Her eyes widened as she recognized the text immediately to be the same one on the scroll. "Filius, are there any more books on translating Old English here?"

He nodded. "Yes, there are three others right over there," he pointed to a section off to Minerva's right.

She quickly stood. "Thank you Filius, I-" suddenly things around her were fuzzy for a moment and she put a hand on the table to maintain her balance.

"Minerva, are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"I'm fine. I simply stood up too fast," she rationalized as she headed over to the books.

Once again seated at the desk in her new office, she opened the book she had found and unrolled the scroll. The writing was indeed Old English. As she read it, restraining herself from crying again proved to be challenging, especially regarding how the scroll began:

_My Darling Minerva,_

_ I love you, more than words can express. If you are reading this then I have supposedly died. I say 'supposedly' because if the spell worked correctly, I am not really dead. It was very old magic I used, dangerous but worth the risk if it worked. In the frightening case that you are not the one reading this, I have decided to leave you clues before I explain further._

_ Priam liked opera and when Hecuba actually painted a mural, they Italian became. Does Leonardo answer?_

_ Good luck my dear, you have four months before the spell wears off from the time of my death. When you solve the riddle, the next clue will appear and I will offer you the explanation you deserve._

_Forever yours,_

_Albus_

"Do you think this could really be true?" Minerva asked the painting.

"I cannot say for certain, but if it is true then miracles are possible," the painting mentioned.

Minerva ran her hands through her hair, baffled about the riddle. Nothing about it made sense to her. No matter how many times she stared at it nothing came to light. She assumed that 'Leonardo' was referring to Leonard da Vinci, but she decided to look up Priam and Hecuba in the library.

Throughout the next weeks Minerva could only spend so much time in the library though. She still had to select a new Transfiguration professor. It was the middle of the night at the end of June when Minerva sat straight up in bed. Things had begun to make sense.

She reached the study and took out the riddle. "I should have noticed this sooner. It mentions a mural and the opera, things which we have talked about, but the phrase itself is not as important as the words. The riddle is actually a code, but how do I solve it?" She stared at it, as if demanding it to give her an answer.

Then she began to play with the letters at the beginnings of all the words: p, l, o, a, w, h, p, a, m, t, i, b, d, l, and a. That did not seem to yield anything so she tried the last letters: m, d, a, d, n, a, d, a, l, y, n, e, s, o, and r. Still it did not look right. She yawned and decided to return to bed, leaving the riddle for the morning.

Breakfast seemed horribly unappetizing to Minerva that morning. The Eggs Benedict was runny enough to cause revulsion in the back of her throat if she even looked at her own plate. This is ridiculous; I can't even look at my own plate. The worst part is that even the toast I ate is not agreeing with me this morning, she thought to herself. She had to excuse herself and head quickly to the ladies' room after watching Xiomara's sunny-side up eggs run all over her plate.

After the meal had ended, the flying instructor decided to seek out her friend. Xiomara turned a corner in the hallway and nearly bumped into Minerva. "Min, are you alright? You left breakfast in a dreadful rush."

Minerva was grateful for the concern, but knew where her friend would suggest she should go. "I suppose I am fine; I have just felt tired lately. And regarding breakfast, it figures that just when I begin eating regularly again I cannot keep food down," she remarked with a wry half-smile. "Now I really must be going. I have something important to finish."

The flying instructor smiled and shook her head. "You have to take better care of yourself. You know what I am going to recommend, and don't bother protesting. Poppy is already expecting you."

Raising an eyebrow she walked with her friend. "I cannot believe I'm simply letting you take me to the infirmary. I am not sick and I am sure all that I need are a few vitamin potions and a regular walking schedule."

Xiomara snickered and added, "Yes, Healer McGonagall," to which Minerva rolled her eyes and shook her head.

Poppy seemed glad that Minerva had stopped by. "I'm glad Xiomara could convince you to finally come in for a checkup," the medwitch stated.

She ushered Minerva to one of the beds. _ I know they are my friends, but there are days when I wish they would not fuss over me so_, Minerva thought with a sigh as she sat. "Poppy, there is nothing wrong with me. I am right as rain and I probably only need a few vitamin potions."

Poppy shook her head as she cast a diagnostic spell, causing a white steam-like cloud to surround the Headmistress. "Minerva, I prescribed you a diet, so we'll start there while we wait for the diagnostic potion to finish. How has the diet worked so far?"

"Some things have not stayed down very well, especially in the mornings. I don't see the relevance in this," she responded.

"How have you been feeling in general?" the medwitch attempted to ask. Before Minerva spoke Poppy continued. "And don't tell me you are 'fine.' I want an honest answer out of you."

"Poppy, I do not have time for this. I have been tired, perhaps even a bit dizzy, but not much more than that. I have a great many things to tend to at the moment, so if you do not mind I shall take my leave," Minerva stated primly.

The medwitch put a hand on her shoulder as the cloud began to recede back into Poppy's wand. "Wait it's almost finished." Once the substance had completed its trip to the wand, the end of the wand glowed a brilliant moss-green, the colour indicating a person's health status.

No one said a word for the first few moments as Poppy stared at the wand in confusion. Minerva broke the silence. "I don't remember it ever doing that to me before."

Poppy finally found her voice. "Minerva do you know what this colour indicates?" she continued when the question was met with a head shake. "It means you are with child. You are also about five weeks along."

Minerva was silent, staring at the floor as she tried to organize her mind. _What on earth has just happened? Is it really possible that this is the result of my one night with Albus? Oh Albus, if only you were here right now. You would have made an excellent father_. The last thought caused a few tears to fall passed her defenses and onto her robes. The other women remained quiet, allowing her a few moments with her thoughts. She closed her eyes for a moment. _If I cannot get you back Albus, then you have left me a gift that I will indeed treasure_.

Summoning her courage, she faced the others with a slight blush. "Albus and I were together the night before he died, roughly five weeks ago."

"Well wonders never cease," Poppy said quietly. "Do you want a concealment potion?"

The Headmistress nodded. "Yes. I want to keep this child, but I'm not certain if I want the whole staff to find out."

"Are your sure about this?" Xiomara asked gently.

"Yes, Mara, he left me one last gift and I have no intention of relinquishing it."

Poppy walked off to retrieve the concealing potion as well as a few vitamin potions. Xiomara sat down on the bed next to Minerva. The flying instructor did not miss the pensive expression scrawled across her friend's face. "Min, if I could bring him back for you, I would."

Fighting back tears, Minerva faced the other witch as she remembered the scroll. "Mara, I do not know if he is really dead."

"He's gone and you need to learn to accept it," Xiomara explained.

Minerva shook her head adamantly. "There is a chance that he is not as gone as we all thought."

"What do you mean?" Poppy inquired as she returned. Minerva told them about the scroll and the riddle

"So that's what you've been working on," Xiomara exclaimed.

Minerva nodded. "I just can't seem to solve the riddle. It has something to do with letter placement, but I am puzzled as to what."

Xiomara jumped off the bed and accidentally hit a jar of Defense Against the Dark Arts chocolates. Poppy walked over to clean up the mess. "Those assistants of mine need to pay more attention to what I tell them. I specifically requested that this jar should be put on the third shelf. They only hear every other word I say," she muttered.

Suddenly the light switch turned on in Minerva's mind. "Poppy, what was the last thing you said?"

The medwitch looked at her curiously. "They only hear every other word I say."

"That's it!" Minerva exclaimed. "I think I know what I need to try."

My thanks to Quill of Minerva, v(), TartanLioness, LinZE, Isabelle(), A. Elyk, and HMS Frivolities and Felines for reviewing :D.


	4. My heart did break

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, or ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings.

Chapter 4: My heart did break.

Minerva headed to the study followed by Poppy and Xiomara. When she reached the scroll, she wrote out the first and last letters of every other word: p, m, o, w, n, a, y, p, a, m, l, i, n, d, s, a, and r. She was planning to write out all the odd letters beginning with p, but then realized that the sequence would have mostly consonants and the other mostly vowels. Staring at it, she finally recognized that the pattern was based on the last and then the first letter of every other word without counting the lone 'a,' making the answer to the code: Mona Lisa.

"Mona Lisa," she said aloud.

A bright flash came from the scroll and a small jade box with several drawers appeared along with another scroll. This time the message was in standard English and used an old pet name of hers toward its end:

_Minerva, my love,_

_I know that only you could have solved the riddle. Here is the explanation that I owe you. If the vial is glowing, then it now contains my essence. The way the spell works, at the moment of death, the essence or soul of the person is transported into a preservation potion while the body is duplicated. The new version of the body appears in a place designated by the person before death, but the body is asleep until the essence is poured into it through the mouth. Though the painting is now animated, it will return to its dormant state if you can put my essence into my body. If things work as I hope they will, we will see each other again._

_Until I see you again Tabby,_

_Albus_

Poppy and Xiomara stared at Minerva with puzzled curiosity. "Minerva, do you realize that he may have set this up so as to occupy you while you work through your grief?" Poppy suggested.

Minerva shook her head. "I don't believe so. I was doubtful at first, but now I see that this could actually work," she paused and picked up the box. "However, I haven't the slightest clue how to solve this or even what it is. It could take days before I figure this out."

Xiomara extended her hand. "May I see it, Min?" Minerva handed it to her.

The flying instructor began to fiddle with it, pushing the various compartments. "It's a Chinese puzzle box and things need to be pressed in a particular sequence."

As she set the box down on the desk after causing one of the compartments to open, a rolled piece of parchment shot out of the drawer and circled the room until it found Minerva's hand. While she and Xiomara had worked with the puzzle box, Poppy had been studying the glowing vial. She cast a spell on it to check its status and then a deep frown appeared on her face.

"He was wrong," was all she said at first. The other two raised their eyebrows in a similar fashion.

"What do you mean, Poppy?" Minerva asked with concern flashing in her emerald eyes.

"How brightly was this glowing when you first discovered it?" she inquired, pointing to the vial.

The Headmistress eyed the vial for a moment. "I suppose it has dimmed a bit, but I do not see what this has to do with-"

The medwitch cut her off. "The potion is degrading at a faster rate than he had anticipated. Basically instead of four months since his death you only had two months."

Colour seemed to drain from Minerva's face as she glanced at the vial again. "That means I only have three weeks!" she exclaimed. Then she turned her attention back to the scroll. "Perhaps this will shed some light on the situation." She read it aloud:

"_Tabby,_

"_I am so sorry that I have miscalculated the duration of the potion. I hope you have solved this one in time. My guess is that you have employed Poppy and Xiomara to help you by now, since I do recall that Xiomara has a knack for puzzles. The next one will appear as you finish this note, and fortunately it is the last one. I need to give you a hint though: to solve it, your other form suits you better._

"_I love you always,_

_Albus"_

Just as the parchment had said, another puzzle appeared. It was a small round disk with a diameter of eight inches. It was sectioned by four raised coloured buttons. "Mara, do you know what this is? The green button keeps blinking but I can't press it."

The other witch scrutinized it and then nodded. "It's like something muggles used to call 'Simon.' About five years ago I kept having to confiscate these from students during flying lessons. The green button keeps blinking because you are supposed to press it. Once you do that, it will blink again but then another button will blink until the buttons end up creating a long pattern."

"But I don't understand what the parchment was referring to by your other form. It might be the reason that you have trouble pressing the button," Poppy mentioned.

Minerva studied the device and noted how small it was. Then she looked up at the others. "I think I understand now. My other form is my animagus form. Let's see if that works," she suggested.

Transforming into a cat, she pressed the blinking button. She jumped back in surprise when it made a sound and then another button was added to the blinking sequence. With her excellent memory, Minerva passed it, ending up with a sequence using twenty-five colours. Another piece of parchment appeared:

_Congratulations my dear,_

_I knew you could do it. Now it is time that I revealed the location. I am in a Valley in the land that once revered your other form. You would have to be swimming in the Nile not to know where this is. You will be able to find where I am when you arrive._

_My deepest love,_

_Albus_

_P.S. You hold my heart in the palm of your hand._

Minerva sat back in the desk chair and sighed. _We are so close, but I am so sick of these riddles!_ She ran her hands through her hair and tried to think of what type of valley he meant and why it was capitalized. In the back of her mind she began to recall the conversation from that night from what seemed like another lifetime ago.

Poppy and Xiomara had started walking toward the door. "Minerva, perhaps it's time to rest for a while. We will be around if you need us, but you've tried to do a great many things and the sudden need to rush is not good for you."

"Thank you for your concern, Poppy, but I will be fine. Both of you, thank you for your help," Minerva remarked.

She made herself a cup of tea and ordered a few biscuits as she attempted to solve the final riddle. _What on earth does he mean by saying that I'll know where to find him when I arrive? Why did he capitalize 'Valley?' I have this nagging feeling that the answer is right under my nose, but I am simply too tired at the moment to figure it out_, she mused.

Placing her hand on her abdomen, she whispered "Little one, I truly hope that we are able to find your father. I am not sure what is to be done now though. We only have three weeks and I feel as if each second slipping by is brining me closer to being one second too late to help him. I don't know where to go from here."

Almost as if in response her stomach growled. She smiled and glanced at the cuckoo clock. "I suppose my answer is to take a break for dinner."

Minerva was in a quiet, contemplative mood all through the evening meal. Flitwick was seated on her left and leaned over to her. "Are you alright Minerva? You've been awfully quiet this evening. You look as if you have something on your mind."

She turned to her colleague. "Thank you Filius, but I am alright. I was thinking of something, a riddle."

"Well, I know you will solve it, whatever it is. It takes patience for the sands of time to run through an hour glass," he remarked.

She smiled and nodded. "I just need to rest a bit and then it will seem clearer."

At the end of the meal, Minerva returned to the pile of profiles from wizards and witches vying for the position of Transfiguration professor. It was only 8:30 when she decided to turn in for the evening. Using the floo network to reach her old rooms, she prepared for bed and was quickly asleep.

For the second time in a few weeks Minerva woke in the middle of the night and sat up straight in her bed. _Filius unwittingly gave me a hint by mentioning sand. I don't know why I did not think of it immediately but there is only one place Albus could be. I should have remembered the comment he made about swimming in the Nile during our chess game. The Ancient Egyptians used to worship cats and the 'Valley' he was referring to has to be the Valley of the Kings. I think I can apparate there shortly_, she realized.

Dressing quickly, she packed the glowing vial and a few necessities in a carpetbag and sauntered off of the school's grounds in order to apparate. Actually arriving in Egypt was not the problem. Apparating to the Valley of the Kings would prove to be another situation entirely. She had managed to apparate to day-lit Luxor and was immediately stopped by two men in white robes before she could venture further. She was wondering if she would need a language translation spell when one of the men spoke.

"Madame, excuse me, but was your intention to apparate to the Valley of the Kings?" the man on her left asked in English.

She was unsure whether or not these men were trustworthy and the man on the right seemed to sense her discomfort. "We offer our apologies for not explaining who we are. We are a new branch of the Egyptian Ministry of Magic, called to protect the archaeological sites. We cannot allow apparition directly onto sites because too many wizards and witches who arrive here as tourists may cause permanent damage."

"However," the other one continued, "we are willing to allow access to someone who has a legitimate reason."

Minerva decided to be as vague as possible. "I am looking for a friend of mine who might be there. I need to see him for personal reasons and it is imperative that I find him as soon as possible."

While the men took a step back to deliberate, she searched her bag to be sure that the vial was still intact. As she fingered it, her thumb brushed something on the bottom that she had not yet noticed. A small round object fell off the bottom and onto her hands. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity after she had placed the vial back into her back and began to examine the object. It was a small blue scarab.

She looked up when the others turned back to her. "We are sorry, but we need a clearer reason to allow you access."

Minerva paused in thought, not wanting to tell them anything. Then she remembered the scarab in her hands. "Will this do?" she asked as she held it up.

The two men looked at the scarab and then back to each other. "She is here for him. Let her pass."

They both took hold of a shepherd's crook and indicated that Minerva was to do the same. She soon realized that it was a portkey and within minutes the vortex they had been sucked into released them in the middle of a desert with mountains.

"We will wait here and collect you when you have found him," one man said.

She stepped away from them and sighed, looking at the landscape. "Albus, how am I supposed to know where you are?" she whispered.

Suddenly the scarab in her hand felt warm and she glanced down at it to find it emitting a blue light. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity and as it would glow brighter when she walked in one direction, but dim when she changed directions. _This reminds me of a children's game where they tell each other you are getting warming or colder when one of them is trying to find a hidden object_, she deduced. Then she smiled fondly. _It's just like you to use another game to lead me to you._

She decided to walk in the direction that the scarab glowed brightest. At last she found a small cave. Ducking to enter, she noticed that the scarab was so bright she did not even need to use her wand to light her way. A few corridors and corners later, the scarab led her to a room with an open sarcophagus.

As she passed through the doorway, two candles on stands that looked as if they had been borrowed from Hogwarts lit themselves. She placed the scarab in the pocket of her robes and rushed over to it. Gasping when she peered into it, she reached out and touched the face of Albus Dumbledore. He was as still as death, but not as cold.

She reached back into her bag and removed the vial, which appeared to be dimming again. Then she uncorked it and placed a hand behind Albus' head as she attempted to pour it down his throat. After it was empty she replaced the vial in her bag and watched Albus expectantly, looking for some result. His chest began to rise and fall as he started breathing.

However, Minerva's happiness was diminished when she realized that she could not revive him. _Your body is as warm as a regular human's and you are breathing again, but you are still not awake. What did I do wrong? What have I done? I have to get you back to Poppy as soon as possible_, she realized as she tried to hold back her tears.

She levitated him from the sarcophagus and out to where the two men waited. "Can I apparate back to my home from here?" she asked them.

"Yes. In fact we would prefer that you would. It would be far too complicated to explain your friend's presence in his current condition back in the city," one of the men replied.

Soon she was back in familiar landscape and heading quickly to the castle after having cast and invisibility charm over Albus so as not to attract unwanted attention. It was just past dawn when she arrived at the infirmary. Poppy jumped up when Minerva entered and looked at her curiously when she lowered an unseen form onto one of the beds.

The medwitch gasped as Minerva lifted the invisibility charm. "You actually found him. I didn't think you would really do it," she admitted. "Where was he?"

"I found him in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, and I used the potion, but he…" she could barely choke out the words. "Poppy, he didn't wake up and I don't know what to do!"

(In the previous chapter Canterbury Tales should have been Beowulf. My thanks to Leta McGotor, Little Morgsi, A. Elyk, Lia06, Lady Jolly, Becca(), excessivelyperky, SherbetKitty, girl from Iceland(), Zoeteproet, HMS Frivolities and Felines, ParadoxofInfinity, JoolsFan, roniponi333, Isabelle(), and Lady Epur for reviews :D).


	5. Until I saw you anew

Disclaimer: All Harry Potter people, places, things, or ideas (all Harry Potter nouns) belong to J. K. Rowlings.

Chapter 5: Until I saw you anew.

Xiomara burst into the room seconds later. "Min, I was working out a few kinks in the new broom I bought out on the Quidditch Pitch when I noticed you. What were you doing outside and…" she trailed off, having spotted Albus. "Oh my word! You found him!"

Her friend nodded. "Yes Mara, but I do not know how to wake him. Was it too late before I ever reached Egypt?"

She gave the Headmistress a hug. "We will find a way to bring him back. You did the best you could, no matter what happens." Minerva reached into her pocket, looking for a tissue but only finding the note. She pulled it out and began to finger it.

Poppy grabbed Albus wrist and then placed her fingers on his neck. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she turned back to Minerva. "He is alive in a manner of speaking. Somehow he is breathing but he has no pulse. It's as if he's missing his heart."

Minerva was at the end of her emotional rope and started to cry. "What are we supposed to do then? I have failed him! We were so close and now I have failed him!"

"No you haven't! You have done the best you could and this is not your fault," Xiomara expressed. She put a hand on Minerva's shoulder. "You've done all that you can for now. It might be a good idea if you rested for a while."

"Xiomara's right. Minerva if you went to Egypt, you've hardly slept at all, not to mention what you should have eaten. I will see if anything else can be done while you get some sleep," the medwitch persuaded.

Minerva nodded and sighed, brushing a hand over Albus' cheek. "I will be back, I promise," she whispered as she left reluctantly.

For the next five days Minerva stayed in the infirmary as much as possible, sometimes bringing her paperwork along. Poppy had used as many diagnostic spells and waking spells as she could find, but still nothing seemed to work. Minerva had brought the last note with her, thinking that there might be some last puzzle they had all missed.

"I'm so sorry Minerva, but I can't find anything useful. The only thing I do know is that if we cannot revive him, he won't be with us more than a couple of weeks," Poppy relayed.

Minerva sat on the bed next to Albus and held his hand. Her eyes were brimming with unshed tears as she placed the note she had brought on the table next to the bed. "I cannot lose him again, Poppy, not when we are so close. There has to be something I missed."

A few minutes later Xiomara arrived, walking toward Minerva. "I dropped by to see if there were any changes."

Minerva shook her head. "He's the same, I'm afraid. And we are still no closer to an answer."

The note on the table fluttered to the floor as Minerva's robes brushed it. Xiomara picked up the parchment and read it. "Min," she began, looking intently at her friend, "the end of the note says, 'You hold my heart in the palm of your hand.' What were you holding when you found him?"

Having wiped away most of the tears, Minerva put her hand in her pocket and removed the object. "I had almost forgotten about this little scarab. It glowed and showed me where he was."

The flying instructor's eyes opened wide. "Don't you know what that is, Min? The Ancient Egyptians often substituted a heart for a carved scarab similar to that one when someone was embalmed."

"Do you really think this is what the note was referring to?" Minerva questioned.

"It doesn't hurt to try," Poppy commented.

Minerva sighed and walked over to Albus, carrying the scarab. The medwitch had undone his shirt to expose the skin over where his heart should have been beating. As Minerva lifted the scarab over the area, it glowed a deep red instead of blue. She placed it on top of the skin and it disappeared in a red flash.

Then sparkling blue eyes opened to the world again and Minerva held her breath. She stayed planted to where she sat on the bed as Albus reached up and touched her cheek. He sat up slowly as tears of joy ran down her face. He gently took her face in his hands and wiped her tears away with his thumbs.

"My Minerva, there is no need to cry. Everything is fine again. I knew that you would eventually figure everything out," he told her.

"Oh Albus, I thought I was going to lose you again. Xiomara and Poppy helped me solve your puzzles. There is so much I- what I mean to say is- I'm just so glad that you-" she could not express in words the joy she felt knowing that he was now alive.

He seemed to understand what she was trying to say and drew her to him for a sound kiss. She returned the kiss when they had parted. "I love you so much. Don't you ever do that to me again," she exclaimed as they rested their foreheads together.

Chuckling, he kissed her again. "I love you too, forever and always."

He raised an eyebrow as she then proceeded to place his hand on her abdomen. "There is another bit of news that I need to mention: you are going to be a father."

Without hesitation he pulled her to him again and kissed her deeply. The world around them seemed to disappear until Xiomara cleared her throat, reminding them that she and Poppy were still in the room. They blushed as they parted.

The medwitch performed a diagnostic spell on Albus and smiled broadly. "It would appear that your plan worked. With a bit more rest, you should be back to your old self," Poppy told him.

"What I want to know is will you be Headmaster again?" Xiomara inquired.

Albus looked at Minerva, taking her hands in his. "No, Mara. My return must remain a secret until Voldemort is destroyed," he paused and spoke to Minerva. "My dear, think of this as my retirement. It is time that I passed the torch on to you. And if I am not so busy, I can look after our child when you cannot. He or she also must be kept a secret for a while."

Minerva nodded in agreement as they stayed in each other's embrace. "Albus you cannot stay hidden in some room waiting for You-Know-Who's demise, neither can you use an invisibility charm the entire time. Something tells me that you have another idea."

He kissed her softly. "You know me well. If you recall, one of my animagus forms is a snowy owl. When I need to go somewhere I will become an owl. You can simply explain that you have a new familiar. You may even call me 'Checkmate' if you wish."

She laughed heartily. "Finally you have succumbed to my streak of victories I see."

"You lost the last one though," he reminded with a smirk.

The Headmistress swatted his arm playfully. "You were distracting me during the last game."

As he began to kiss her neck she began to purr. He whispered, "You always distract me, whether you realize it or not."

Poppy tapped her fingers on the table loudly. She spoke when she had Albus and Minerva's attention. "Considering that you two are going to spend the rest of the day shamelessly flirting, I would rather you two engaged in it someplace else. I'm releasing you Albus, because I'm tired of listening to you two."

They all laughed and Albus changed into a hansom snowy owl, perching on Minerva's shoulder. The halls were quiet as she walked to the Headmistress's suite. When they were inside and the door was shut Albus transformed back into his human form and conjured tea for them.

As they sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, both were content to sit in silence for a while, enjoying each other's presence. Then Albus set his cup down, deciding that it was time to speak. "Minerva, my love, there is something that I need to ask you."

She also set her cup down. "Of course."

He took her hands in his, gently stroking them. "You did not give up trying to find me, though I know it could not have been easy. You have always been my best friend, my voice of wisdom, and now the woman I love very much. Minerva, I would be honoured if you would be my wife. Will you marry me?"

A few tears of joy slipped down her cheeks as she smiled brightly. "Yes, yes Albus. I love you more than I have words to explain. I could not bear to be here without you when I realized that there might be a way to have you back. I would be greatly honoured to call myself your wife."

Voldemort was defeated by Harry Potter a week before Minerva and Albus' daughter was born. With raven-black hair and sparkling blue eyes, Anastasia Minerva Isis Xiomara Dumbledore cooed in Minerva's arms. Albus sat on the bed next to her.

"When did you want to tell the school?" he asked.

"I will tell them as soon as possible that I have a lovely daughter and a wonderful husband," she replied with a warm smile.

He grinned broadly as she handed the infant to him. "You do realize that some day we will have quite a story to tell her about how she came to be and how I returned?" he mentioned with a wry grin.

Minerva nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "I think she will especially like the part where we tell her what a gift she is, as are you."

Leaning over, he kissed his wife warmly. "And you, my dear Tabby, are my gift because you never gave up on me."

…………………………………………………Fin……………………………………………………

(This was an entertaining idea that absolutely had to be written. I hope you have all enjoyed reading this tale as I have enjoyed writing it. My thanks to Lady Epur, TartanLioness, Isabelle(), Leta McGotor, Lia06, HMS Frivolity and Felines, SherbetKitty, sportsnightnut, Lady Jolly, Alesia G., Trekkie101, ParadoxofInfinity, and Becca() for reviewing :D).


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